The Dillon tribune., 1887-12-16
Iht 1Mon Eribnnf.
CARELESS WITH 4 GUN.
a SENSIBLE MAN NEVER FOOLS WITH
FIREARMS mot LOADED

story of the Hoy with an Empty Shot'
gun-A Lesson FOR Lifc-.anosi,cr Illus
+ration Of Criminal Carcles,ncss-The
Ol'~ Snfe Way.
Never handle firearms careessly. I
used to do it, hut of late years it makes
une boil to lave anybody point " gun or
pistol toward me. Two events il my life
have done more TO inspire within me q
wholesome respect for tirear. = han any
thing else that ever happc..cd to me.
When 1 was about Is years old ] bor-
.rowed a shotgun of Il chum.
ssIs it loaded" vas the first question I
asked.
enc VIZ, the reply, and I. like q
goose. u. .r'i wha, he said
On .,r way home with it met another
boy, who bcgaI, lodging behind the shade
trees as approached, Indian fashion. I,
df course, must do my part of the tragedy,
so cooking the gun, began to skulk too,
until, when we finally met. to show that
he was plainly in my power, put tho
nuzzle Of the gun up close to his nose and
pulled the trigger.
thought no more of the circumstance
until evening, when l began cleaning the
gun, and found that it was clogged up SO
cap, l placed it on the nipple, and, going
away she went with Ii report that awOkc
the neishbor, for blocks around and filled
the leaves of Il cherry tree near by as full
Of holes as /; skinner.
Then Thought Of Tom, into whose face
I had snapped .I..' gun. The fact that the
cap had become damp alone prevented the
gun from hciu.. DISCHARGED and blowing
Toms head into snli;hcrecns.
Though his after life was Il tiZZle and
.hc filled u irunkard, grave at an early
age, yet how my life would have cen
bhghted If, through my bOyish careless
ness, he had been killed. vowed a VOW
at that time never to be careless with fire
arms.
ANOTHER INCIDENT.
One more circumstance occurred aftcc /
had grown to manhood. l was standing
On pile of lumber, busily engaged in
measuring lumber, when, hearing 4
''click' behind me, turned, and there
stood IL boatman pointing an army musket
Squnrely ut my head and sighting along
1he barrel. The muzzle of the gun was
only six feet from my head, and he had
just snapped it at me. lie was II man so
years old, and, under the first angry inl-
pulse that came over me. said
"You old fool, you ought to know bet.
ter than to snap gun at q fellows head
IN that careless way
Jaw, pshawr' said he, ''it isn't
soatled:'
'HOw do you know that:'
Because 1t has been lying around my
boat for more than six months, and
know it isn't"
$1,o wan. ~, ~,,,,, 1,,>.% 1,,,~..,
anything about it, said !.
''Wall, now, you're making such fuss
about it, I'm going to get cap and show
you. Here, hold the gun till I come
back
While he was gone I ran the rurnrod
down the barrel and found that it was
loatled.
When he returned with !: cap removed
the old one and replaced it with u now
one. Pointing the gun upward I pulled
the trigger and Il report followed, tho re-
coil from which nearly knocked me off the
humber pile and raised the boatman's hair
on end.
''What tlo you think now" I asked.
SWELL" said he, "that's the last time
1 shall point gun ut anybody if live 100
years."
A damp cap alone saved me that time,
and though | should not have been to
blame, yet this event would have hlighted
my life still more cifectually than the first
one, for it would undoubtedly have blown
my head off my shoulders, and il man who
tinds himself in that condition can but
acknowledge that his life is, in II measure,
blighted, and his fnturo plans and pros.
poets somewhat intcrfered with.
Don't fool with firearms. If a gun is
ioadet, and everybody knows it is loaded,
there is little danger 1t is the gun and
the revolver which is not loaded that goes
s'ff and kills folks or mains them for life
So the only safe way is to handle them 1T
Ill times as though they were loaded.
Get into the habit Of so doing; then i,
will become natural and easy to you, and
yon may be spared the agony Of gazing
upOn the mangled form Of some friend
shrough whom you have let daylight
Always keep behind gun yourself. and
point the muz.lc away from other people.
Sunshine.
Pickaninny transportation in Georgia.
One day large family Of slaves came
through the fields to join us The.hea,l
of the family, u venerable negro, was
mounted on Il mule. and safely slowed
away behind him in pockets on bags at
sachcd to the blanket which covered the
mule We're two little picknninnicS, ono on
each side. This gave rise to 4 most im-
portant invcnton--i. C., 1.-The best way Of
transporting pickan;nnics. On the next
tlay mule appeared in column covered
k,,y, III bat ssi